Petal-former.



J. E. VINCENT.

PETAL FORMER.

APPLICATION FiLED APR. U, 1911.

Patented May 28,1918.

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JOSEPH E. VINCENT, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

FETAL-FORMER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErI-r E. VINCENT, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Cambridge in the county of MiddleseX 5 andCommonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Petal-Formers, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact specification.

In the manufacture of paper flowers, it is found that by pressing asmooth body along a tissue paper petal supported upon a yieldingsurface, the paper will acquire the crinkled form desired for theimitation of ehrysanthemum blossoms. To this end I have devised a toolcomprising a shank, a slender neck and a spherical head for the bettertreatment of the paper petals; and l have further improved thereon'byprovid- 20 mg mechanism for automatically actuating a plurality of suchtools simultaneously, and thereby both accelerating the work andrendering it more uniform.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1is a side elevation, partly in section, showing a machine embodying myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a face view of one of the tissue paper petals tobe treated. Fig. 3 is a detail View of one of the petal-treatingmembers.

I prefer to act upon several petal blanks 1 at a time, laid one uponanother upon a soft rubber surface 2. Fixed above this surface is asuitable support, as the bracket 3, from which depends a rod 4: havingat its lower end ears 5 to which are pivoted tubular levers 6. Slidablein each tubular lever is the shank 7 of one of the petal-treating tools,the latter comprising the shank, a neck 9 and a spherical head 10. A pin11 projecting from the shank into a slot 12 prevents the tool fromdropping out from the tubular lever 6, while permitting the de siredlongitudinal movement therein, a helical spring 13 pressing each tooldown and outward.

At the upper end of each lever 6 is an antifriction roll 14 engaging acone 15 slidable on the rod 4:, the cone being elevated and depressed byany suitable means, as the lever 16 connected therewith by a link 17.Leaf springs 19 bearing outwardly against Specification of LettersPatent. Patenfimdl Maw 28, 191%,,

Application filed April 17, 1917.

Serial No. 162,614.

the levers 6 yieldingly swing them away from a common center.

The bracket 3 being elevated or the table 20 being lowered, to permit asuitable quantity of petals l to be put in place, and the cone 15 beingslid upward on the rod l, the tool-heads 10 are brought into engagementwith the tips of the petals by raising the table or depressing thebracket, until the springs 13 are partially compressed.

The cone 15 is now forced downward, thereby causing the spherical heads10 to be moved toward each other. This movement of the heads, whilepressing down upon the tissue paper, with their yielding supportingsurface 2, acts to produce in the thin tissue the crinkled effectdesired, the petals being not only crinkled but caused to curl upward inthe manner closely imitating the flower above referred to.

As shown in Fig. 3, the shank 9 does not join radially to its head 10,but tangentially, in order to permit each petal as it is acted upon tocurl up over the head.

What I claim is:

1. A flower forming instrumentality comprising a plurality of shankseach having a rounded head at'its lower end, a pivoted tubular leverslidably receiving each shank, a helical spring in each tubular leverpressing the shank therein downward, a yielding surface for the paperblanks, and means for simultaneously moving the tubular levers to slidethe heads along the paper blanks toward each other.

2. Aflower forming instrumentality comprising a stationary rod, aplurality of tubular levers intermediately pivoted to its lower end, ashank having a rounded lower end slidably located in each tubular lever,resilient means pressing the said shanks downward, a cone slidable onthe rod to force the upper ends of the tubular levers outward and therounded heads toward each other, means for thus moving the cone, and asoft surface for supporting the paper blanks beneath the rounded heads.

8. A flower forming instrumentality comprising a plurality of tubularlevers each having an anti-friction roll at its upper end, a stationaryrod having said levers pivoted at anintennediate point of each to itslower end, springs for pressing the lower ends of the levers away fromeach other, a shank having aronnded lower head slidable in each tubularlever, a spring in each 7 5 lever pressing the shank therein downward,means for lilnitingtthe. outward movement of each shank from its tubularlever, and a cone forcibly slidable on said rod for moving the lowerends of the levers toward each other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention, I have hereunto setmy hand this 31 day of March, 1917.

JOSEPH E. VINCENT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' v Washington, 1L0.

